Saturday, December 4, 2010

Labyrinth Lord House Rules Mk II

Heres a revamped version of my Labyrinth Lord house rules.

  1. 3d6 assign to taste
  2. If combined bonus is not +1 or greater, roll a new set of stats
  3. Max hp at first level
  4. Common abilities: Climb, Search for Traps, Languages, Open Doors, Search, Survival, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and Tinkering
  5. Race Abilities: Stonecunning, Outdoor Stealth (needs a more halfling/gnomey name), Seceret Doors (needs a more Changelingy name)
  6. Elves renamed Changelings and Halflings renamed Gnomes
  7. Ascending AC -- No armor: 10, Leather: +2, Studded +3, Mail +4, Scale +5, Plate +6, Shield +1
  8. LotFP:WFRPG Encumbrance system, along with removal of weapon and armor restrictions
  9. Magicians need both hands to cast or a staff.
  10. Fighters gain Combat Dominance: Fighters may attack a group of monsters with 1HD or less a number of times equal to their level.
  11. Magicians only gain spells from research or scrolls.
  12. Secret doors and traps can use different die types a la AD&D
These are also designed to work with the Mentzer version of the Basic rules, and it's possible that if I get a copy of the Expert and Companion versions of those rules I'll switch from Labyrinth Lord all together.  Since the characters haven't advanced past three yet, I haven't worked out the Base Attack Bonus tables for the Ascending AC system.

I'm hoping that this version is a bit more clear.

5 comments:

  1. As a GM, I am pretty generous about awarding ability increases on those game sessions that a PC does NOT advance a level. Players should not panic (or whine) if their initial scores are not as high as desired, these scores will increase with game play.

    No matter which technique used for character generation, eventually a player is going to come up with low ability score (s) – this should not be a buzz kill, but an opportunity to add personality to the generated character. A low ability score justifies a character pursuing the unsteady life of an adventurer after a modest level of success at his previous occupation.

    Low STRENGTH does not have to imply the character is a weakling, but could reflect a prior shoulder or back injury.

    Low DEXTERITY is not necessarily a lack of coordination, but could represent myopia, vertigo or a knee injury.

    Low CONSTITUTION could represent a respiratory disease such as asthma or would simulate the lack of emotional fortitude from either phobia or post traumatic stress disorder.

    Low INTELLIGENCE does not have to imply that a character is a simpleton; it may merely represent illiteracy or overzealous superstition.

    Low WISDOM could signify a character struggling with the familiar problems of addiction (alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc.) and is not necessarily a lack of insight or perception.

    Low CHARISMA does not have to imply that a character is ugly or deformed; it could represent lack of etiquette or an overbearing ego (think of Dr. Cox on the TV show, ‘Scrubs’).

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  2. Gnomey sounding outdoor stealth: huggermuggery

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  3. You definitely need to call them stone cunning, door cunning and sneakery cunning.

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  4. I have extra copies of the Mentzer Expert and Companion rules if you want them. Just let me know.

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  5. Warning about the Mentzer set if you plan to switch to it... The Companion & Master sets (and thus the BECMI compiled Rules Cyclopedia) use a revised thief skills table that nerfs the poor thief. Seriously, like he needed nerfing.

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